Home Is Wherever I'm With You
by Shizuka Futaba
Summary: High School AU - Nanami is the new girl who hates Tomoe & Tomoe is her mysterious classmate who hates her but somehow they just can't leave each other alone. Akura is her best friend from home and has loved Nanami all his life. Which will it be Nanami? Mysterious Tomoe or Best Friend Akura?


"Today we have a new student joining us from Shobara, Hiroshima!" Ama-sensei, the glassy-eyed middle-aged teacher announced in what was clearly forced excitement.

"Momozono-san, if you would please introduce yourself?"

Two months ago if anyone had told Nanami Momozono that she was going to pack her things, leave her home and move to Kyoto she would have told them no fucking way. It wasn't possible. What an absurd idea to even think about.

But there she was, exactly one month and twenty-one days ago, gaping open-mouthed towards her mother who suddenly announced that, oh, _hey_ , _by the way_ , we're moving three hundred kilometers away.

You see, she always knew that her parents loved Kyoto. It was where their wedding was held and where they had gone on multiple vacations to, but because her grandparents weren't well, they've stayed in Hiroshima all her life. While her mother, on the other hand was expecting her to be brimming with excitement knowing that they'd get to live somewhere 'new' and 'exciting!', Nanami was very much so dreading the whole thing, really.

Moving meant starting anew, making new friends (or trying to, not that she was any good at it), and moving to Kyoto?! This move felt like being thrown into an ocean with no life vest and no chance to go home. It was like Harry Potter in that scene where they lived on a house in the middle of the fucking ocean with no hope of happiness.

Geez, talk about spontaneous.

The only comfort she had in moving was that she wouldn't be completely alone seeing that Aki would come visit as often as he could. Of course he would be, after all, they were best friends. But luck wasn't on her side since he had school too and wasn't there on her first day to give her moral support.

Or at least to be next to her in his equally ridiculous uniform.

Nanami fidgeted nervously and wondered how many seconds had passed since Ama-sensei had told her to introduce herself. She tugged against the sleeves of her shirt and pressed her skirt against her sides. It was still hard to comprehend her mother's insistence on choosing a school with a cute uniform, seeing that it just looked stupid to her.

Nanami pushed her fringe behind her ears and glanced nervously at the dozens of eyes staring right at her.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath.

 _Okay, here we go. You can do this._

 _Easy._

.

"Um- I'm Nanami Momozono. I'm seventeen and I just moved here from Hiroshima. I'm really new here, so, um, _yoroshkun_ _onegaishimas_."

Her eyes never left the wall at the back of the classroom as she stumbled over her words, barely pronouncing the language right due to her nerves. She could hear the soft murmuring across the class as the students whispered amongst themselves, ever so often glancing at the new girl with questioning eyes. She held back her tears as she wished for Aki to be by her side.

 _Where are you Aki_ , Nanami sighed.

"Is Mikage-kun in school today?" Ama-sensei asked, peering over the attendance list.

"Not here obviously," someone from the back answered.

Ama-sensei sighed before assigning Nanami's seat at the back of the class behind an empty desk of whom she assumed to be Mikage-kun's vacant seat, right next to the window.

 _Just how I like it_ , Nanami thought, _thank God_.

Looking out the window towards the courtyard, Nanami wondered to herself what fate had in store to have placed her in a new school in the middle of her seventeenth year, with no friends, and absolutely no clue how to fit in.

"I'm going to kill mom," she muttered under her breath.

Why was she in Kyoto, honestly. Of all the places, her parents could have been obsessed with, it had to be Kyoto. A city that's practically a million miles away from home.

"Momozono-san!" she heard someone call. "You're the new girl right?"

Nanami turned to see a pair of shining eyes staring right at her. It was just like the mangas had depicted. The girl was a tiny little thing, bouncing on her heels, with luscious bronze hair that fell down her back and bright eyes with the hopefulness of a child.

"I'm Ami!" She beamed.

"Mm, hey," Nanami answered awkwardly.

"Your name's Nanami right? Can I call you Na-"

"It's not," she snapped. "I-I mean it is, but, um- I'm sorry. Actually, just Momo-chan will do."

 _Shit, I did it again._

Nanami frantically brainstormed several different apologies in her mind before realising that thankfully, Ami didn't seem at all fazed by the slight sharpness in her tone.

" _Well_ ," Ami drawled, before continuing all in one breath, "you're new here, aren't you? D'you want me to show ya around? There's so much t'see, you know? I can show you the school garden, and the library- oh! D'you like yakisoba? Our school has the best yakisoba lunch meals in the area, y'know?"

 _This girl talks way too fast and in a really thick Kansai dialect,_ she mused, zoning out completely.

Nanami fascinated herself by looking at Ami's tiny frame in comparison to her wild hair, and the strands of brown that fell down her neck and along her cheek. She looked like a doll.

"Actually, uh," she said slowly, cutting Ami off, "I'm good. I kind of just want to take in the atmosphere for today. Tomorrow maybe?"

"Oh- Mmm!" Ami chirped.

Nanami heard someone else call her and in an instant, Ami was spinning around and taking off towards the door, the bounce in her step seemingly getting higher and higher.

"Wait-" Nanami caught herself saying.

"Is there a quiet place here? Somewhere no one really goes. Just to, uh, be alone?"

Ami smiled. She could tell that Nanami wasn't really settling in very well. I suppose coming to a new country and enrolling in a new school does take a toll on you, she figured.

"We have a rooftop? No one will bother you there," Ami answered kindly.

"Fourth floor. Look for the staircase at the utmost left corner and take the ladder up."

Nanami could barely mutter a thank you before she realised Ami had bolted out of her sight probably in an attempt to give her some space. I guess she's not so bad, Nanami smiled.

 _I'll be nicer tomorrow_ , Nanami thought.

It wasn't like the whole ordeal was that bad to begin with. It was just that Nanami had very much preferred being in her old school with the secret spaces she was used to, with people who knew not to bother her, and a place where she was invisible rather than where she was now as everyone's shiny new toy.

By the time the lunch bell rang, she already had one foot out the classroom and was heading for the roof. It wasn't that hard to find, and no one seemed to be walking the same way. Glancing at her reflection on the classroom windows, she sighed. Her long brown hair was way too messy today. And her socks were definitely too high. Everyone had theirs below the knee, but her mother insisted on high socks to 'live out her Japanese high school dreams'.

"Honestly, that woman," Nanami grumbled.

And what was with this uniform anyway? Why did there have to be a ribbon for the girls when the boys get ties. The ribbon was huge, and was obnoxiously yellow, much to her distaste.

"I'll just get a tie from the office, then."

 _If Aki was here I'd easily borrow his tie_ , Nanami sighed, _where is that bastard when you need him._

As much as she'd hate to admit it to his face, she was always lost without him: Akura Kirihito. They'd met each other on the first day of pre-school and Nanami had so much trouble pronouncing his name at first, so much so that he snapped and told her to call him Aki instead.

She was the older one - by one month and fourteen days - but he had always been the leader. Nanami never wanted to be the one in charge, or the example for anyone to follow. She'd very much rather live her life in peace and let someone else take the limelight. It was easier that way.

 _After all, no one stands in the spotlight better than Aki can_ , she thought to herself.

Akura was light. He was the sun, and Nanami would be the moon. There wasn't anything romantic about it to her, it was simply that he understood her better than anyone else, naturally. And he contrasted her in every aspect known to man. Shobara was a small town where everybody knew everybody, and if your kids were the same age, they'd probably be in the same schools together till college.

When they were younger, he was always quiet, always watching out for her. Nanami used to be the noisy child, the child who wanted the rainbow striped stockings and the extra sweets on Christmas. Akura was the one who would give her his share of chocolate. He was the one who would protect her, the one who would stand up against the other kids who called Nanami weird for having flowers in her hair.

As they grew older, she stopped saying much and started to think and write. It got worse when her dad left home one day, leaving one measly note about him 'going on a journey'. Her mother dealt with the departure by taking up the role of both father and mother - becoming somewhat erratic and overbearing at times. Nanami on the other hand, simply shut herself off completely.

Aki became her spokesperson towards their classmates, and occasionally her parents too. On days when she was feeling down, he would take it upon himself to tell her mother, knowing that Nanami wouldn't say anything, not wanting to feel like a bother.

There was a time in middle school where people would tease Nanami and Akura to be lovers, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. For a while it bothered them, but really, there wasn't anything other than the comfort, frequency and understanding between best friends.

Nanami leaned against the barriers looking over the school field as she ate her _sasamochi_. The wind brushed against her hair, fluttering with the breeze. The one thing she did like about Kyoto was that the cherry blossoms bloomed around the same time it did in Hiroshima. It made her feel less alone.

Everything else? She could do without.

She plugged in her headphones and started browsing through her playlists, humming along to the first track. She leaned against the wall, dropping down to sit with her legs stretched out.

Nanami looked up towards the sky and watched the clouds slowly float by. No shapes today, she thought to herself. She felt herself shut down as she shut her eyes and embraced the wind. Tucking her hands below her cheek, she leaned on her side and laid down against the wall, legs curled up into a fetal like position.

Falling deeper into sleep, she thought about the clouds - shapeless, formless, limitless.

"I am limitless," Nanami mumbled half-asleep, half listening to her song.

" _Noisy_."

 _Eh?_

Pushing herself up from the ground slightly, she furrowed her brows, rubbing her eyes half open. Did someone say something? Looking around through her sleep-blurred vision, all she saw was an empty rooftop.

 _Oh well_.

It was probably just her imagination.

.

.

" _Aki_ , I can't do this," Nanami groaned, talking to him on Skype. "I guess the people aren't that bad, except for this one girl, though actually I guess she's kind of nice, okay but that's not the point. I just feel so unsettled and-"

The dark-red haired boy laughed, throwing his head back. His eyes were glistening from the tears that had formed from the ten minutes of laughing at Nanami's rants about school.

He was a striking opposite of her. He was golden. He had a on perpetual smile and eyes that wrinkled as he laughed - the kind of laugh that made you want to get in on the joke; that made you laugh along even if you didn't know what he was laughing about.

"Are you _five_ , Nanami," Akura smirked. "Make friends. Talk. _Speak_."

Nanami groaned. He was one of the few people who called her Nanami. It was a name reserved for those whom she felt comfortable talking to. Even her previous classmates in junior high stuck to calling her by her surname for all the years they've been in the same school together.

It wasn't that she was a negative person, or someone with a bad personality, neither was it anything about shyness or confidence. She just preferred silence because it had always been difficult for her to properly _click_ with someone. People were either too intrusive, had too many differences, or just didn't talk to her at all. She tried. Apart from Aki, no one really understood her.

Looking at the small thumbnail of herself on the computer, she brushed her hair aside, shining the screen light onto her face. Her brown eyes were half covered by her dark lashes and she noticed that her other features seemed more contrasting against her fair skin than usual.

"Yeah, okay I'll talk to someone tomorrow," Nanami said, watching her lips make a promise she wasn't even sure she could carry out.

 _Well, after I actually figure out what to talk about_ , she added, mentally groaning.

"Either way, I'll be coming down in a couple of weeks to see ya'. Till then, I'm sure you'll be alright," Aki assured her.

Aki stared at her with worrying eyes.

She was someone that would always stand out. Her hair, her features, her smile (if anyone was ever so lucky to see) was something that would make anyone come back for more. But somehow she never noticed. She never saw the people who gazed at her longingly, wanting to be her friend, wanting to know what she was thinking.

A part of him had always felt lucky, to have grown up next to her all his life. Special, because he knew that he was the only one she'd ever opened up to. But when she told him that she was leaving, Akura had wished that she'd never picked him all those years ago. Maybe then they wouldn't have grown up by each other's side all this time. And maybe he wouldn't end up missing her as much as he did.

"I'll talk to you soon, I've got school work to do," Akura joked, picking up his cat and waving its paw as a goodbye.

"Aki, _baka_ ," she laughed, shutting her video chat as she played her music through the speakers.

Nanami woke the next day and stayed in bed for thirty minutes thinking hard about whether or not she really needed to go to school today. It would be perfectly okay for her not to go, not that anyone would notice.

But her mother would definitely not miss a chance to see her off on her second day and admittedly, she _was_ kind of looking forward to her time on the rooftop.

Dressed in her uniform, her skirt barely mid-thigh, her socks rising up above her knees and her hair tied up in a messy ponytail, she slipped into her sneakers, grabbed her bento lunch, kissed her mother on the cheek and headed out.

 _It's going to be a good day,_ she promised herself. She'd also taken the liberty to leave the ribbon at home. _Not today_.

She basked in the morning breeze and wondered why the Kyoto air seemed clearer and more fragrant than that back home. It felt like skies here were dabbed with colours she would never have seen previously.

"I like my new life here," she repeated like a mantra as she walked up the hill to Sagoya High School.

" _You like your new life here_ ," she told herself firmly. "You like your new life here. You like Kyoto. You like your new school. You like your new l- _ow!"_

Nanami yelped in shock when she felt someone bump into her from the back, pushing her forward.

"I get it. You like it here. Geez," a voice said over her shoulder.

"Wha-" Nanami stuttered, embarrassed that someone had heard her thinking out loud. Accidentally stepping on her shoelaces, she tripped over her feet and stumbled backwards, her cheeks flaming up in embarrassment.

Nanami fell back against a broad torso, feeling the warm sturdy arms of a boy steady her. Flustered, she fixed her uniform, hastily grabbed her bag that fell onto the ground.

 _How annoying_ , she thought. _He bumps into me, not bothering to apologise, makes fun of what I'm saying then catches me when I fall like I'm some stupid damsel in distress._

Rolling her eyes, she turned around and felt increasingly irritated when her gaze had only met his chest.

"Tsk, stupid giant," she cursed _,_ bringing her eyes up to his face.

 _How much embarrassment do I have to show the same person on my_ second _day,_ she groaned.

Barely managing to get a proper look, he had stepped by her, not giving her a second glance.

"Noisy," he huffed, walking away.

It took her five seconds to realise she had been standing there unmoving, staring furiously at the back of his head and his _silver_ hair that was _unrealistically_ shining against the morning light.

 _Noisy?!_ she thought to herself incredulously. It had been a while since anyone had ever called her that. She was definitely anything _but_ noisy.

"And who has _silver_ hair anyway?" She scoffed.

.

.

It was mid-march, raining heavily on her second day of school and Nanami was completely, utterly, lost.

She was supposed to head off to her English class from her time during lunch on the rooftop, but some how, one wrong turn and a couple of identical looking staircases later, she found herself in the middle of a random corridor ten minutes into the hour.

"What am I supposed to do now, dammit," she cursed, running from one end of the corridor to the other looking for someone to help her.

She didn't have it in herself to barge into a random classroom like an idiot, only to draw more attention to herself. The only logical way was to go back to where the came from and work her way backwards to the classroom.

"Rooftop, rooftop," she mumbled running up a few flights of stairs to reach the highest level.

The wind was getting stronger as she went higher up the school towards the fourth floor. She could feel the rain being blown inwards and towards her, dampening up the right side of her uniform.

 _Careful_ , she reminded herself, remembering the numerous times in the past when she had slipped on wet stairs.

Some of the classes already had lessons ongoing and it felt awkward to go back to class thirty minutes in the hour. Though it wasn't like she could hide out at the roof while it was pouring, Nanami entered one of the empty classrooms instead.

There shouldn't be anyone coming for at least thirty minutes, she figured, taking her seat on one of the tables next to the window.

She watched as the raindrops trickled down against the glass and sliding one after the other. Although it was rather chilly and the sky was pretty dark as the clouds turned into a murky shade of grey, the rainy weather gave her a warm sense of comfort. A coziness she used to feel in her room on rainy days, enjoying a hot drink with a good book.

It almost made her forget that she was in fact not in the comfort of her room, but instead in an abandoned classroom not out of choice, but because she got lost in school, in Kyoto.

Almost.

Sighing, Nanami pulled out her notebook from her pocket, taking her chances with getting caught for skipping class.

 _I must have already maxed out the number of bad things that could have happened today_ , she thought to herself as she wrote, expressing her feelings into poetry and prose.

She couldn't remember when she started to write. It wasn't really some part of her 'identity' or anything. Though now, she'd like to think it had some kind of calming effect - like inhaling the good, and breathing out the bad – writing out her worries and letting the pages share the burden with her.

Pulling the hair-tie out from her ponytail, Nanami let her brown locks fall down her shoulders. Just as the wind from the outside started to get stronger, she heard the door behind her slam shut, jumping a little in shock at the loudness of it.

"What a second day," she said softly, pulling her sleeves past her wrist as it got colder.

"Who _are_ you?"

She whipped her head backwards, turning to face where the voice came from - half frightened by the suddenness of the door and the presence of another person in the room.

It got worse.

Looking backwards, she saw his silver hair glistening slightly against the reflection from the window, ruffled and entangled, pointing in different directions as if he'd been running all morning. His messy fringe fell right above his eyes; a strange shade between purple and grey, piercing, and staring right at her.

"Are you _lost,"_ he asked, narrowing his eyes, "nobody comes here but me."

"It was raining," she finished weakly, unable to think of a better excuse explaining why she was hiding in an empty classroom halfway through the day.

Nanami watched as he pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his hands, lighting it up and inhaling a long drawled puff. Her hazel eyes widened in shock before a rush of irritation swooped over her.

"Rooftop," she snapped.

"What?" he asked, blowing out smoke from his mouth.

"Smoke on the rooftop," she said, glaring at him. "Don't be stupid. What if you get caught?"

"It's raining," he offered feebly, using her previous excuse.

She felt a mix of irritation, embarrassment and loss, she wasn't sure why she felt so agitated. She never had a problem with smoke since Aki had picked up the habit for a while now. But still. Why was he being so careless?

"What the fuck are you _doing_?" she asked fiercely as he flicked his cigarette out the window.

What was his _problem_?

She was furious.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You don't even know m-"

"I know that you could seriously _hurt_ someone with that cigarette falling four floors down," she finished, cutting him off.

Nanami felt her cheeks heat up. It wasn't like her to do something rash out of anger like that. It wasn't like her to feel flustered or unreasonably angry at a stranger. But watching him act mindlessly, without a care for the world, with those hollow, grey eyes bothered her to no end.

 _Not a chance,_ she thought to herself fiercely.

"Got it, thanks," he said sharply, jumping off the table he was perched on and heading towards the door.

For some reason she she couldn't let it go. She wasn't sure _why_ she was so upset, neither did she know _who_ she was mad at. Him? The boy? Honestly, who was he?

"Just some douche who can't leave me alone," she mumbled, answering herself.

He let out a bitter laugh.

"You're voicing your thoughts out loud, _Noisy_ ," he told her.

"Don't call me that," Nanami snarled, snapping her eyes away from him. "I have a name," she finished, looking straight ahead.

The more she looked at his expression the angrier she got.

"And?" he shrugged, his shoulder brushing against hers as he moved. "Doesn't matter to me."

She stood there, frustrated as she watched him walk past her, his shirt falling messily around his waist, half-untucked with the sleeves rolled up mid way, exposing his forearm.

He was _infuriating_.

"Nanami Momozono," she muttered, not sure why she was bothering in the first place.

She shut her eyes, looking down as she waited for him to snap up a comeback or a snide remark. When nothing happened, Nanami peeked her eyes open from under her fringe, and sighed.

All she saw was an empty door with him already gone.

 _Fucking asshole_ , she cursed.

.

.

Nanami made her way through the packed bus stop, slowly pushing her way past person after person. She had to take a 10 minute bus ride home or a twenty minute walk. Seeing that today wasn't one of her luckier days, walking seemed like the less desirable option.

" _Onee-chan?_ " Nanami turned to look at the around as she felt someone softly tug her skirt.

Her eyes fell onto a tiny elementary-school boy, with bright golden brown hair that fell untidily around his face. His eyes were brimming with tears and she noticed that his other hand was clutching tightly onto a pair of broken spectacles.

"Onee-chan, I- I can't see. Some of the kids at school p-pushed me down and stepped on my glasses and- and now, I- I can't get h-home," the boy cried, sniffling.

Nanami felt her heart threaten to burst out of her chest. He barely looked past 7 years old. His bright shimmering eyes were so full of sadness, she could only wonder how long he'd been trying to get home without anyone coming to help him.

"Mamoru-kun, don't worry, I'll get you home," Nanami comforted him, reading his name off the name-tag on his shirt.

"I live in the Fushimi-ku neighbourhood," Mamoru said.

"Really? So do I!" she said excitedly, taking his hand in hers. She felt relieved that he didn't live in an area she wasn't familiar with.

"Onee-chan _kirei_ ," the six-year-old complimented her, his face turning a light shade of pink.

Nanami burst into laughter, throwing her head back as her giggles erupted. Being called beautiful by an adorable grade-schooler was such a nice change to her day that she couldn't help but grin.

" _Arigato_ , Mamoru-kun," she beamed, ruffling his hair playfully.

Taking the seat next to him on the bus, she answered his questions about herself one after another, suddenly realising that this kid was the first person in Kyoto she really opened up to.

"What about you?" Nanami asked.

"Well," Mamoru drawled, pouting his lips in thought.

 _That action itself is so cute_ , Nanami thought to herself, marveling at him in complete adoration. She had always wanted a baby brother. Having someone to dote on and care for in that way was a luxury she never had.

"I have an onii-chan! He's a lot older than I am," he continued, beaming proudly. " _Onii-chan_ 's the best. Whenever he's not busy we'd go cycling or we'd play soccer at the park and sometimes he brings home some food for me, like cookies! I love cookies!"

Nanami smiled earnestly, "I have good friend back home who's like a brother too. He takes care of me a lot."

" _Really?_ That's so cool! _Onee-chan_ you just moved here right? S-so that means that you've got _two_ houses justfor _you_! I've never moved before! _Oh,_ I can call you Momo-san, right?" Mamoru fired his questions excitedly.

"Yeap!" Nanami chuckled.

Spending time with children was one of her favourite things to do. They're always so bright, brimming with questions and showing others respect and adoration in the way she felt was so pure and kind.

"Will your glasses be okay?" Nanami asked, worried that he wouldn't have anyone to help him get home without it.

The boy nodded firmly.

"Onii-chan will fix it for me! It's not the first time it broke," he admitted sadly.

Stopping mid-way in her tracks, Nanami crouched down and pulled the young boy into a hug. It wasn't fair that someone so young had to ever have such an expression.

Pulling out a pen, she scribbled her number onto his arm.

"Mamoru-kun, listen to me okay? Whenever you need help when you're in trouble and if you can't get a hold of your brother or anyone else, you can call me with any phone you find. I'll come as fast as I can," Nanami promised, holding her pinky out.

"Pinky swear!" Mamoru grinned, wrapping his tiny finger around hers.

Holding his hand in hers, Nanami followed as he led her along the path to his home. The orange sky illuminated the streets as the sunset hid behind the houses along the road. The brown and white tinted houses turned a nice shade of orange and beige whenever the sun peaked through between the trees.

She watched as several passers-by walked along the opposite pavement; mothers with their children, adults returning home after work and some students with uniforms she'd never seen.

 _It looks oddly familiar_ , she mused. _It almost feels like home._

"Nanami!"

 _Eh? Mom?_ Nanami paused, looking around. It sounded like her mother, but there was no way since... she should be at hom-

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

Nanami spun around to see her gaping mother standing at the doorway of their home, two houses behind them. The middle-aged lady stared at her daughter curiously, wondering if Nanami didn't come in straight because she'd forgotten how to get home.

"M-mom?" Nanami asked, incredulously.

She hastily pointed towards Mamoru and tried her best to gesture something that looked like 'I'm helping him', though Nanami wouldn't be surprised if her mother only saw her spinning her arm around in circles.

" _EHHH?_ Onee-chan you live here? I- I live a few houses down the road! I can't believe _we're neighbours?!"_ Mamoru half-yelled half-asked, jumping backwards, wide-eyed, glancing back and forth between the two homes.

"I had no idea, really. I forgot where I was, I didn't even notice that I had walked past my own house!" the brunette admitted, letting out an awkward chuckle.

"You're funny Momo-san!Come on," the young boy smiled happily, holding his hand out, "let's go home."

 _Home it is, I guess_ , Nanami thought to herself, smiling.

Three houses down and after Mamoru's excitedly sung made-up song about neighbours, they stopped before a quaint little home. The grass around the house were messily trimmed, and she imagined that Mamoru had helped to do it.

Running along ahead and yelling out a happy goodbye, the kid rushed off into the house, kicking his shoes aside as the door opened. Nanami could hear remnants of his excited voice conversing with someone else.

"Mi-ka-ge," she read, written on the door of the fence.

 _Mamoru Mikage,_ Nanami thought to herself, nodding. It suited him.

The grass patch around the house was crowded with things lying all over the place like bicycles, a hose, a few toys, some gardening tools and even a small deflated inflatable pool. Somehow, the house had a nice touch with its clutter.

While the front yard appeared undeniably messy, the design of the house exterior was beautiful. It was simple and traditional with wooden walls and a long stone path that connected the fence to the front steps. It somehow reminded her of a shrine.

Nanami bent down next to the fence that surrounded the house, brushing her fingers through the flowers. They were so neatly arranged, one after the other, from roses, to lilies and daisies, then with several different species' she couldn't recognise.

"My favourite," she said absentmindedly, looking at the row of white daisy petals before her, using her forefinger to bounce from petal to petal.

 _"What_ are you doing at _my_ house."

"Mamoru-kun? Your voice sounds really lo- _oh!_ " Nanami squeaked, as her eyes met the person she was talking to. She barely heard the pitter-patter of Mamoru's footsteps as he came running over, before standing proudly by her side.

"Onii-chan, Momo-san's the girl who helped me get home! She's our nei- _"_

 _Oh dear God, no,_ Nanami begged mentally.

 _Onii-chan_?

Nanami blinked furiously, trying to take in the fact that this all-so-familiar silver hair had appeared _once again_ before her, for the _third_ time today. She looked up towards him, her eyes peering from under her fringe, still half crouched over the flowers, her cheeks flushed in a state of shock and disbelief.

"Momo-san?" Mamoru called, waving his hands in front of her face.

" _Momo-_ "

"Alright then," Nanami sputtered, snapping herself back to reality, cutting the child off as she stood up. "I'll, um, be going home. Now."

" _Wait!_ " Mamoru exclaimed, holding on to the ends of her sleeve. Blushing slightly, the young boy stuttered as he asked if he would ever see Nanami around anytime soon.

"Of course," she smiled earnestly, bending down to ruffle his hair.

" _P-pinky promise?_ " he asked softly, holding his hand out. "You're the first sister I've ever had."

"Promise, Mamoru-kun," Nanami chuckled, wrapping her pinky around the little boy's.

Turning away, Nanami glanced upwards at his face. It was no longer hidden behind his messy silver hair that was now pushed back with a pair of spectacles over his head.

His eyes were the same murky shade of purple-grey, with the dark hollowness that made her feel unsettled. His dark circles made his eyes stand out more against his skin in a way that looked almost beautiful, in a strange fragile way.

But Nanami could only wonder what could have caused such tire.

She eyed him curiously; dressed in black ripped jeans and a loose sweater, noticing that he had multiple earrings on both his ears that weren't there when they were in the classroom.

 _Right. Time to leave,_ she thought, as she caught herself staring. The brunette looked away, shuffling awkwardly before quickly walking towards the direction of her house.

"Nanami," he called after her.

 _Nanami?_

"Y-you know my name?" she asked, confused. It felt strange that someone outside her family even uttered the word.

"You _told_ me your name. Are you an _idiot_?" He snorted.

"Wha- _ugh_ , you fuc- _don't call me that,"_ Nanami snapped, feeling herself get increasingly agitated by the second. Wasn't he already gone when she'd said it?

She glared at him again before walking off with a loud exasperated _huff_.

" _Nanami!_ " he called again moments later, "thanks... for Mamoru."

She stopped for a second, jolting at the sound of him calling her Nanami again, before storming off again with a million thoughts running through her mind. Somehow or another, she just felt so _agitated_.

 _What kind of a thank you was that? He didn't even look me in the eye to say it. Calling out like some kind of king on his high horse. Infuriating. And he's Mamoru's brother? Of all the fucking people in Kyoto, are you kidding me? What's with all those earrings anyway? They weren't there before. Why can't he just call me Momozono like everyone else?_

Nanami wanted to _scream_.

 _He's so frustrating._

"Don't call me Nanami!" she demanded, refusing to turn around to see the expression he had on this time.

For a moment, she thought she heard him laugh.

" _Hah_. Like I care. _Neighbour_."

She didn't have to turn to know he had a full-blown smirk plastered on his _stupid_ face.


End file.
